City 

Superintendents 
of  Schools 


Extract  from  a  paper  prepared  for 
The  National  Council 
of  Education 


AARON  GOVE, 

Superintendent  of  Schools, 
School  District  No*  One, 
DENVER,  COLO. 


*3*79,  t* 


SuperintenSents 
of  Schools. 

The  technical  duties  of  a  city  superin¬ 
tendent  are  administrative.  He  is  the 
executive  officer  of  the  constituted 
school  authorities.  The  direction  and 
control  of  schools,  primarily  in  the  peo¬ 
ple,  by  them  is  lawfully  delegated  to  a 
number  of  persons  variously  termed 
Directors,  Committee,  Inspectors,  or 
Boards  of  Education.  Originally,  these 
authorities,  themselves,  performed  all 
the  duties  pertaining  to  their  office, 
personally  and  directly  managing  and 
controlling  the  conduct  of  the  schools. 

HISTOBY. 

In  1851  the  School  Committee  of  Bos¬ 
ton  determined  that  an  executive  officer 
of  the  committee,  a  man  skillful  in  his 
profession  and  adapted  by  temperament 
and  education  to  the  duties,  ought  to 
be  placed  as  an  intermediate  agent  be¬ 
tween  the  committee  and  the  schools; 
one  who  should  devote  his  entire  time 
to  executing  the  directions  of  the  com¬ 
mittee.  Nathan  Bishop  was  elected  in 


dtp  Superintendents 


the  month  of  May  of  that  year.  The 
movement  for  the  establishment  of  this 
office  began  several  years  earlier.  Its 
scope  and  objects  were  ably  set  forth 
in  the  first  printed  report  of  the  board, 
viz.:  the  famous  one  of  1845.  Mr.  Mann 
had  suggested  the  need  of  additional 
means  of  supervision  in  his  first  report 
of  1838,  and  in  some  paper  not  long 
afterward  he  had  specially  suggested 
the  expediency  of  appointing  a  superin¬ 
tendent  of  the  primary  schools  of  Bos¬ 
ton.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  first  su¬ 
perintendent  had  supervision  of  the 
grammar  and  high  schools  not  of  the 
primary,  which  were  managed  by  an¬ 
other  school  board.  The  office  of  su¬ 
perintendent  was  established  in  Provi¬ 
dence  about  1839  and  Nathan  Bishop 
held  the  office  until  elected  in  Boston. 
The  office  had  a  temporary  existence  in 
Springfield  before  it  was  established  in 
Boston,  but  had  been  discontinued 
there.  Professor  Greene  was  superin¬ 
tendent  at  Springfield  in  1842,  and  the 
office  ended  with  his  service.  This 
seems  to  have  been  the  initial  move- 
2 


of  Schools, 


merit  which  has  resulted  in  a  custom 
now  quite  generally  adopted.  It  is  not 
the  purpose  of  this  paper  to  discuss 
the  propriety  of  the  existence  of  such 
an  office  but  rather  to  portray  some¬ 
thing  of  the  duties  which  to-day  belong 
to  it. 


DUTIES. 

But  the  inquiry  is  made,  even  at 
the  present  day,  “Why  the  expense 
and  machinery  of  a  superintendent ?” 
The  answer  frequently  is  such  as  would 
summarily  abolish  the  office.  I  take 
it  that  no  valid  objection  can  be  made 
to  efficient  supervision  in  any  depart¬ 
ment  of  our  social  or  political  economy. 
Objections  probably  arise  amongst  those 
whose  observations  have  been  made  in 
an  unfortunate  direction.  What  num¬ 
ber  of  schools  can  economically  employ 
the  whole  time  of  a  supervising  officer 
is  a  proper  question.  In  industrial  es¬ 
tablishments,  as  well  as  in  enterprises 
requiring  unskilled  manual  labor,  em¬ 
ployers  insist  upon  abundant  super¬ 
vision.  A  great  railroad  company 
3 


Citg  Superintendents 


places  one  man  to  boss  three  or  four. 
Every  factory,  large  or  small,  has  its 
foreman  and  its  bosses.  Experience  has 
taught  that  such  an  arrangement  pays 
financially.  The  conclusions  are  quite 
as  reasonable  in  the  conduct  of  schools; 
where  even  a  small  aggregation  of 
schools  is,  there  an  able  superintendent 
can  be  profitably  engaged. 

The  written  laws  prescribing  the 
duties  of  a  superintendent  although 
variously  framed,  are  nearly  identical 
in  substance.  “He  shall  have  an  over¬ 
sight  of  all  public  schools  within  the 
boundaries  of  the  district  and  shall  per¬ 
form  such  duties  as  may  be  prescribed 
by  the  board  of  education.” 

This  formula  presents  a  trivial  idea 
of  the  complexity  and  magnitude  of  the 
labors  of  the  office,  and  yet  it  covers 
the  whole  matter. 

Two  distinct  and  separate  classes  of 
duties  are  demanded  of  the  intelligent 
superintendent:  one  relating  to  the 
board,  the  other  relating  to  the  schools. 
Facing  the  one  he  is  never  to  have  his 
back  to  the  other;  he  is  to  be  director, 
4 


of  Schools. 


petitioner,  advisor,  or  servitor  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  case  in  hand.  Although  his 
formulated  duties  do  not  so  prescribe, 
yet  his  chief  duty  towards  the  board  is 
that  of  adviser.  Unfortunately  con¬ 
stituted  is  that  board  that  does  not 
seek  his  advice;  more  unfortunate  is 
that  superintendent  who  is  unable  to 
give  healthful  advice. 

FINANCES. 

To  do  so  he  must  be  familiar, 
first,  with  the  financial  affairs  of 
the  district.  He  must  know  about 
the  assessment  roll  and  about  the 
tax  collector’s  returns;  he  must  be 
acquainted  with  the  sources  of  income, 
and  with  the  ratio  of  school  expenses  to 
other  municipal  expenses.  Money  is 
the  greatest  power  in  upbuilding  school 
interests.  A  community  may  be  intel¬ 
ligent  to  a  high  degree,  may  be  unan¬ 
imous  in  a  desire  to  establish  and  main¬ 
tain  an  excellent  public  school  system, 
but  no  good  resolutions  can  take  the 
place  of  an  empty  treasury.  In  States 
west  of  Ohio  this  knowledge  is  of  great 
5 


CJt^  Superintendents 


moment,  because  extraordinary  pro¬ 
vision  must  annually  be  made  for  great 
increase  in  school  population.  When 
many  towns  annually  levy  a  school  tax 
ten  times  greater  than  the  rate  of  the 
entire  State,  county  and  municipal  tax 
of  Connecticut,  when  nearly  half  of  all 
the  money  paid  to  the  tax  collector  for 
all  purposes  is  expended  towards  main¬ 
taining  schools  and  building  school- 
houses,  notwithstanding  streets  are  to 
be  graded,  bridges  constructed,  public 
buildings  erected,  waiter  and  gas  works 
provided,  sewers  built,  fire  and  police 
departments  and  courts  of  justice  main¬ 
tained,  with  such  great  expenses  for 
schools,  it  well  behooves  the  adviser  of 
the  board  to  remember  when  he  would 
ask  for  helpful  but  not  necessary  ac¬ 
cessories  for  the  conduct  of  the  schools, 
to  be  able  intelligently  to  count  the  cost 
ere  he  asks  for  the  expenditure. 

The  school  tax  in  a  little  town  in 
Illinois  is  three  per  centum  of  the  as¬ 
sessed  valuation  of  the  district.  Kan¬ 
sas,  Iowa,  and  Nebraska  can  furnish 
many  instances  of  a  rate  of  school  tax 


of  Schools. 


that  would  cause  a  New  England  man 
to  stand  aghast  with  fear  lest  ruin  com¬ 
pass  the  land.  A  part  of  one  Western 
city  the  present  year  is  paying  a  school 
tax  of  two  per  centum,  while  the  entire 
tax  for  all  other  purposes  is  two  per 
centum. 


expeotditttres. 

The  superintendent  in  connection 
with  the  board  must  assist  in  tem¬ 
pering  the  expenditures  to  the  reason¬ 
able  income,  that  the  efficiency  of  the 
schools  be  not  impaired.  He  must  be 
able  to  suggest  modes  of  retrenchment 
other  than  one  reducing  the  pay  of 
teachers.  Care  is  requisite  that  the 
proper  number  of  pupils  be  assigned  to 
each  school.  If  necessary,  few  calls 
can  be  made  for  improvements  in  build¬ 
ings,  for  supplies,  and  for  apparatus. 
He  must  be  ready  with  make-shifts  in 
all  directions,  except  in  that  of  in¬ 
structors,  in  order  that  low  salaries  of 
teachers  be  not  made  still  lower.  Of 
all  public  institutions  in  the  West,  the 
schools  are  nearest  to  the  people.  The 
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Ctt£  SupenntenDents 


school-house  and  its  inmates  are  within 
easy  striking  distance  of  every  man 
and  every  woman  in  the  district.  When 
the  effect  of  straightened  finances 
reaches  the  taxpayers,  the  schools  are 
usually  the  first  target  for  the  aims 
of  retrenchment. 

The  superintendent,  if  he  be  well  in¬ 
formed  in  public  finance,  can  do  much 
toward  averting  the  calamity  of  em¬ 
ploying  poor  teachers  at  low  salaries 
by  pointing  out  other  methods  of  reduc¬ 
tion.  It  should  ever  be  remembered 
that  the  typical  city  of  the  Northern 
States  is  ready  to  pay  without  murmur 
all  necessary  tax  for  the  support  of 
schools,  but  the  city  demands  a  dollar’s 
worth  of  school  for  every  dollar  ex¬ 
pended. 

SCHOOL  HOUSES. 

Second,  the  superintendent  should  be 
well  informed  in  the  arrangement  and 
construction  of  school-houses.  What 
enormous  blots  lie  scattered  all  over 
our  fair  land  in  the  shape  of  abortions, 
miscalled  school-houses!  Maine  is  full 
of  them;  California  is  not  free  from 
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them;  like  carcasses  on  the  plains  they 
lie  broadcast  in  the  Mississippi  valley. 
Magnificent  cities  and  humble  villages 
have  alike  been  struck  with  the  calam¬ 
ity  of  misshapen,  ill-constructed,  un¬ 
healthful,  inconvenient  preposterous 
school-houses.  To  remember  that  the 
people  furnish  millions  of  dollars  gladly 
for  ignorant  boards  and  superintendents 
to  squander,  is  to  feel  that  one  has  the 
right  to  question  the  propriety  of  the 
existence  of  the  office  of  superintendent. 
It  is  futile  to  say  that  the  superintend¬ 
ent  has  no  authority  in  this  direction; 
he  has  what  often  is  better  than  au¬ 
thority,  he  has  advisory  power  and 
his  superior  knowledge,  if  he  have  it, 
is  certain  to  influence  his  associates. 

Of  all  professions,  that  of  the  archi¬ 
tect  seems  to  contain  the  grandest, 
noblest  and  most  skillful  elements. 
Every  true  man  does  admire  and  rev¬ 
erence  the  art  of  the  true  architect; 
but  those  who  do  plan  and  construct 
a  school-house  economically,  that  shall 
be  comfortable,  healthful,  and  con¬ 
venient  are  few  in  number.  Why  should 


Gitg  Superintendents 


an  architect  be  expected  to  be  in¬ 
formed  as  to  the  desirable  interior  ar¬ 
rangements  of  a  school-house?  Who 
but  the  practical  and  studious  school¬ 
master  can  tell  the  necessities  of  the 
case?  The  latter  is  useless  without  the 
former;  the  architect  should  not  be  per¬ 
mitted  to  work  alone.  As  is  the 
unfortunate  custom,  the  appear¬ 
ance  of  the  exterior  of  the  build¬ 
ing  is  often  of  the  greatest  mo¬ 
ment,  the  interior  arrrangements  must 
be  modified  to  suit  the  outside. 
The  people  assist  the  architect  by  in¬ 
sisting  upon  a  towered  ornament  to  the 
town,  -while  the  board  and  superin¬ 
tendent,  often  only  superintendent,  urge 
that  the  money  be  spent  on  the  inside 
for  health  and  work  and  not  on  the 
outside  for  pomp  and  show.  Year  after 
year  we  are  building  on,  duplicating 
mistakes,  profiting  not  by  the  experi¬ 
ence  of  all  that  have  built  before  us. 
Probably  as  many  school-house  mon¬ 
strosities  are  erecting  this  year  as  in 
any  preceding  year.  One  can  find  them 
in  New  England,  New  York,  and  Ohio, 
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of  Schools. 


that  part  of  the  country  to  which  we 
look  for  examples.  The  duties  of  su¬ 
perintendents  require  them  to  call  a 
halt  and  see  that  gross  blunders  be  not 
repeated.  This  means  that  the  superin¬ 
tendent  shall  have  made  a  study  of  the 
subject  and  be  intimate  not  necessarily 
with  the  details  of  construction  but 
with  all  that  pertains  to  convenience  in 
work  and  to  the  promotion  and  preserv¬ 
ation  of  health. 

IlfCIDENTAIi  EXPENSES. 

Third,  the  superintendent  should  be 
prompt  to  advise  in  the  matter  of  ex¬ 
penditures.  School  boards  are  inclined 
to  be  extravagant.  One  will  find  that  a 
board  elected  on  an  issue  of  retrench¬ 
ment,  will  often  contain  elements  that 
are  prone  to  lavish  expenditure.  They 
are  sure  to  see  opportunities  of  reduc¬ 
ing  the  pay-roll  but  are  unwittingly 
led  in  the  other  direction.  A  shrewd 
business  agent  for  dealers  in  apparatus, 
books,  maps,  patent  short  cuts  or  gim- 
cracks  of  various  sorts,  is  able  to  dem¬ 
onstrate  to  the  board  member  all  the 
virtues  and  merits  of  his  wares  and 


Gltg  Superintendents 


speedily  makes  a  convert.  The  goods 
are  often  ordered  soon  to  be  laid  aside 
in  the  cellar.  Principals  and  teachers 
too  often  join  in  requesting  such  invest¬ 
ments  with  no  thought  of  the  outlay. 
How  many  of  us  care  to  take  a  careful 
inventory  of  all  such  purchases  by  the 
authorities  during  the  last  ten  years  as 
may  to-day  be  found  in  the  cellars  and 
garrets  of  our  school-buildings?  These 
leaks  from  the  treasury  amount  to  a 
large  sum.  It  is  usually  in  the  power 
of  the  superintendent  to  stop  them;  he 
should  be  so  intelligently  conservative 
as  to  advise  investment  only  when  com¬ 
mensurate  returns  are  certain.  He 
should  not  allow  the  people’s  money  to 
be  spent  in  such  experiments  if  he  can 
prevent  it.  In  recommending  changes 
involving  cost,  he  should  watch  the 
emptying  purse,  and  avoid  all  possible 
outlay  except  the  outlay  for  skill  to  fill 
the  places  of  instructors. 

CONDUCT  OF  SCHOOLS. 

Fourth,  the  superintendent  should  see 
that  the  board  is  informed  as  to  the 
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current  conduct  of  the  schools.  This  is 
necessary  because  the  board  is  the 
official,  therefore  the  most  emphatic 
medium  between  the  schools  and  the 
people.  Pupils’  and  teachers’  comments 
upon  the  management  are  quite  sec¬ 
ondary  to  the  utterances  of  him  whom 
the  people  have  selected  to  represent 
them  on  the  board  of  management.  It 
is  no  easy  task  to  see  that  the  individ¬ 
ual  members  are  familiar  with  the  is¬ 
sues  that  continually  arise.  Formal 
meetings  are  not  sufficient  to  accom¬ 
plish  the  purpose,  personal  interviews 
are  necessary. 


PEOPEETT. 

Fifth,  the  care  of  the  school  property 
is  directly  in  the  line  of  the  superintend¬ 
ent’s  duties;  this  places  him  in  direct 
relation  to  the  janitors  or  custodians 
of  the  buildings  during  other  than 
school  hours.  Neat  and  well  preserved 
school-houses,  with  fences,  out-houses, 
furniture  and  all  that  pertains  to  the 
premises  are  essential  accompaniments 
to  good  schools.  A  broken  pane,  pencil 


Cits  Superintendents 


or  chalk  marks  or  whittlings  in  out¬ 
houses  or  on  fences  not  only  indicate 
weakness  in  supervision  but  are  also  a 
positive  barrier  to  making  desirable 
character  among  the  pupils.  The  su¬ 
perintendent  is  the  only  person  who  can 
and  will  make  visits  of  inspection  and 
spur  janitors  and  principals  to  eternal 
vigilance.  A  coat  of  paint,  a  day’s 
work  on  roof,  resetting  a  fence  post 
can  prevent,  sometimes,  expensive  re¬ 
pairs;  the  superintendent  is  most  likely 
to  discover  these  needs  and  by  sugges¬ 
tions  to  the  board  extensive  outlays  may 
be  avoided. 

THE  PEOPLE. 

It  is  in  the  other  direction,  towards 
the  other  side  of  the  field,  to  the  schools 
and  the  people  that  from  the  superin¬ 
tendent’s  place  the  outlook  is  far  reach¬ 
ing.  Here  it  is  that  technical,  profes¬ 
sional  skill  is  the  effective  element  of 
action.  The  number  of  professional, 
studied  superintendents  in  this  country 
is  alarmingly  small.  Not  the  pecuniary 
remuneration,  the  glory  of  ambition, 
philanthropic  love,  nor  a  desire  to  be 
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and  to  do  good  has  so  far  been  sufficient 
to  induce  the  necessary  number  of  men 
to  prepare  for  and  engage  in  the  work 
of  school  supervision.  The  position  it¬ 
self  is  not  a  widely  acknowledged  dis¬ 
tinctive  occupation.  In  time  it  will  as¬ 
sume  that  dignity  that  is  not  now  ac¬ 
corded  to  it.  The  position  of  teacher  is 
now  often  considered  as  demanding 
principally  text-book  scholarship;  the 
superintendent’s  office  can  never  be  ex¬ 
alted  except  as  a  sequel  to  the  exalta¬ 
tion  of  the  teacher,  an  intimate  and 
practical  knowledge  of  whose  work  is  a 
necessity  to  the  superintendent.  He 
must  be  a  fair  general  scholar;  he  must 
have  passed  through  several  years  of 
technical  training  both  as  pupil  and 
teacher;  he  is  not  to  the  best  degree 
able  to  supervise  primary,  grammar,  or 
high  schools  unless  he  has  for  a  reason¬ 
able  time  served  as  a  teacher  in  these 
respective  schools.  The  conditions  of 
public  education  force  into  the  superin¬ 
tendent’s  harness  persons  whose  prep¬ 
aration  has-.  been  inadequate,  whose 
work  has  not  been  such  as  has  fitted 


Cits  Superintendents 


them  for  the  duties.  Men  of  great 
capacity  and  liberal  education  are  fre¬ 
quently  pressed  into  the  service  of 
school  boards  and  then  learn  for  the 
first  time  by  practice  what  before  they 
had  only  known  in  theory.  A  clear 
loss  follows  the  early  administration  of 
such  supervisors:  the  illustrations  are 
at  hand  and  are  familiar.  And  so 
instead  of  having  a  large  number  of 
well-prepared  superintendents,  we  are 
compelled  continually  to  make  over 
material  prepared  for  quite  another  and 
different  calling  in  life.  With  this 
thought  in  mind,  it  is  not  strange  that 
the  necessity  of  the  office  is  sometimes 
questioned. 

TEA  CHESS. 

The  relations  of  the  superintendent  to 
the  teacher  are  exceedingly  delicate  and 
difficult  of  management.  He  finds  him¬ 
self  associated  with  ladies  and  gentle¬ 
men  any  one  of  whom  has,  in  certain 
directions,  superior  qualifications.  They 
are  quite  his  equals,  socially  and  intel¬ 
lectually,  frequently  his  superiors.  He 
16 


of  Schools. 


is  so  to  adjust  these  forces  as  to  ac¬ 
complish  the  work  of  the  whole  field  in 
the  best  way.  His  view  is  of  the  en¬ 
tire  situation  and,  often  a  course  of 
conduct,  right  and  necessary,  is  in¬ 
sisted  upon  quite  against  the  judgment 
of  his  associates.  Confidence  in  his 
management  is  essential  to  success. 

The  little  frictions  and  misunder¬ 
standings  such  as  ever  arise  in  small 
and  intimate  communities  are  to  be 
regulated;  carelessness  and  shiftless¬ 
ness  are  to  be  upbraided;  errors  are  to 
be  corrected  and  insubordination  is 
promptly  to  be  followed  by  dismissal. 
Such  things  and  many  more  are  to  be 
accomplished  when  neither  the  power 
of  the  general  of  the  army  nor  of  the 
overseer  of  the  shop  can  reasonably  or 
profitably  be  vested  in  the  superintend¬ 
ent. 

INSTSUCTIOJSr. 

Again,  he  is  to  teach,  and  in  no 
part  of  the  work  is  more  skill  re¬ 
quired  than  in  properly  and  effectively 
teaching  a  teacher  how  to  teach,  es- 


Cit^  Superintendents 


pecially  one  who  is  failing  in  the  school, 
and  yet  who'  presents  to  the  inspector 
many  crude,  unorganized  yet  strong 
elements  of  a  true  teacher.  To  tell  a 
teacher  that  the  work  is  unsatisfactory 
because  the  results  are  unsatisfactory 
is  easy  and  cheap.  The  schools  would 
be  soon  relieved  of  the  great  mass  of 
excellent  young  persons  by  such  a  line 
of  attack.  The  superintendent’s  duties 
require  him  to  help  the  teacher  to  do 
satisfactory  work  by  giving  intelligent 
and  dexterous  assistance.  To  do  this 
involves  superior  knowledge  on  his  part. 
At  the  frequent  assemblages  of  teach¬ 
ers  the  superintendent  is  so*  to  preside 
as  to  enable  each  to  appropriate  from 
the  other  whatever  can  be  obtained  in 
the  way  of  helpful  suggestions  for  the 
conduct  of  the  classes,  never  concealing 
the  relative  merits  of  his  associates, 
even  though  his  own  pride  do  suffer. 
These  meetings  must  be  frequent  and 
are  always  helpful  when  properly  con¬ 
ducted.  The  harm  arising  from  inter¬ 
ference  with  methods  of  discipline  and 
instruction  is  to  be  avoided  by  giving 
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all  possible  personal  latitude.  Appro¬ 
priated  methods  are  too  often  soulless, 
heartless,  mechanical  operations.  A 
teacher  to  be  in  the  best  way  success¬ 
ful,  must  not  be  subjected  to  dictation 
in  details. 

It  is  to  or  for  the  pupils  that  the 
superintendent’s  greatest  force,  thought, 
and  study  must  be  directed.  All  ef¬ 
fort  has  but  one  aim,  all  instruments 
and  means  one  object.  All  interests 
center  at  the  children.  The  schools  are 
for  them.  Every  element  of  power  is 
ultimately  exerted  here.  The  advance¬ 
ment  of  the  pupils’  interests  is  the  de¬ 
sideratum  of  all  school  management. 

The  superintendent  must  be  able  to 
classify  so  that  reasonable  allotments 
of  pupils  to  teacher  be  made;  to  make 
provisions  for  extraordinary  pupils 
whether  of  mental  or  physical  peculiar¬ 
ities;  to  avoid  inflexible  laws;  to  modify 
rules;  to  allay  prejudice,  to  forgive  of¬ 
fenses,  to  advise  whipping,  to  expel 
pupils,  to  cultivate  morality,  to  form 
character,  to  retain  boys  in  school  when 


Cits  Superintendents 


they  would  rather  go  to  work,  and  to 
make  the  children  happy.  The  superin¬ 
tendent  of  a  system  of  schools  should 
be  the  publicly  acknowledged  friend  and 
often  the  confidant  and  private  coun¬ 
sellor  of  the  young  people.  He  ought  to 
be  a  welcome  visitor  at  home  and  at 
school.  He  must  be  able  to  talk  with 
pupils  of  every  grade,  placing  himself 
on  their  plane  of  thought  and  impulse. 
He  ought  to  be  a  father,  thereby  from 
an  intimate  knowledge  of  his  own 
children’s  lives  be  the  better  able  to  ap¬ 
proach  and  advise  the  children  of  other 
people. 

parents  . 

Looking  towards  teacher  and  pupil, 
one  sees  beyond  in  the  same  direction 
the  parents  and  people.  Each  indi¬ 
vidual  in  the  community  understands 
that  his  is  the  right  to  inquire  into  the 
conduct  and  suggest  as  to  the  man¬ 
agement  of  the  school.  Dictation,  ad¬ 
vice,  complaint,  and  approbation  are 
lavishly  contributed.  The  superintend¬ 
ent  is  the  appointed  person  to  receive 


of  Schools, 


these  tenders.  He  must  listen  courte¬ 
ously,  appropriate  the  helpful  sugges¬ 
tions,  redress  grievances,  mollify  com¬ 
plaints,  and  be  comforted  by  approba¬ 
tion,  but  not  disheartened  by  blame. 
He  stands  the  representative  of  the 
board  in  the  conduct  of  the  schools  be¬ 
fore  the  people.  In  this  line  of  his 
duties,  requirements  not  heretofore 
mentioned  are  demanded.  A  knowledge 
of  humanity,  not  acquired  from  books, 
but  from  men,  a  true  notion  of  busi¬ 
ness  and  of  family  relations,  an  appre¬ 
ciation  of  home  in  its  thousand  forms 
and  conditions,  of  paternal  and  ma¬ 
ternal  discipline  in  its  various  degrees, 
of  the  loves  and  hates  of  neighborhoods, 
of  the  breeding  and  antecedents  of 
parents;  in  fact,  a  knowledge  of  all  that 
goes  to  make  up  one  peculiar  American 
social  community,  is  needed  by  the  su¬ 
perintendent,  that  he  may  properly  and 
successfully  administer  and  adjust  such 
matters  connected  with  school  life  as 
are  daily  brought  before  him.  It  is  im¬ 
portant  that  he  so  adjudicate  that  ap¬ 
peals  from  his  decision  be  seldom,  that 


Cits  Superintendents 


the  board  be  not  often  annoyed  by 
called  meetings  for  the  purpose  of  re¬ 
opening  cases  of  alleged  grievances 
upon  which  judgment  has  already  been 
pronounced.  This  latter  class  of  duties 
demand  strength  of  manhood  as  the 
busy  world  makes  manhood,  and  calls 
for  an  activity  of  a  sort  that  can  not 
be  found  in  him  whose  life  has  been  a 
purely  literary  one,  spent  among  books 
alone  in  the  library.  A  quarrel  pre¬ 
vented  by  the  tact  or  foresight  of  the 
superintendent  may  save  the  entire  sys¬ 
tem  from  an  overturning  that  long 
time  only  could  right. 

To  keep  abreast  of  the  professional 
advance  is  manifestly  a  duty.  In¬ 
formed  of  the  doings  and  requirements 
of  other  jurisdictions  all  over  the  land, 
he  is  able,  if  properly  conservative,  to 
avoid  any  foolish  episodes  of  his  con¬ 
temporaries. 

I  have  written  of  the  typical  district 
where  the  average  superintendent  is 
called  to  supervise  the  school.  Old 
crystallized  school  systems,  and  the 
very  large  new  ones  being  relatively 


of  Schools. 


few  in  number,  could  hardly  be  con¬ 
sidered  in  a  paper  on  the  duties  of  city 
superintendents. 


AARON  GOVE. 


3  0112 105329293 


